ORIGIN

Big? He liked big things. Brother wouldn't admit that he'd ended up in this sorry state trying to observe both a deinocornus and a scythorn. No, that was shameful, but he did enjoy watching the lessers of the isle. It gave him ideas about how he could improve, ways he could adapt to be a better hunter. So, the idea of this big thing certainly did have its appeal.

Perhaps, if he was extra lucky, they could kill it. Or it could kill the Rex-thing (which would be a shame, he quite liked the Rex-thing), and he'd get an extra meal. Something to curb this hunger he didn't understand.

He felt himself drift, backwards into his own head. Watching himself from inside his own eye sockets as the magic heightened his hearing. Then, he heard it, clear as day. The sounds of blood roaring through veins, the beating of a heart. The steady rhythm he remembered. He hadn't been rendered null by his death. Brother had risen and he was still the great hunter! It just took time to wake up, yes! That had to be it.

Hungry enough to be driven, focused enough to be alert, now was the perfect time to observe this big-thing. Brother grunted at Rex in lieu of using his big boy words, and lowered himself as he stalked towards the beating heart: his sail still sticking out of the bushes like a neon 'I'm here, kill me' sign.

Despite not showing any signs that he knew better, Brother gave Rex an odd look when he mentioned not eating people who talk. Of course, Brother knew that. Did the Rex-thing think he was born just then? He happened to quite like the talking-things, especially the cat ones; the cat ones always had the best games.

Yet, he continued not to communicate any of this, and continued to give Rex a dirty look; as if the larger dinosaur had just offered him roadkill.

There was something they both agreed on, however, that this was exciting to see. Or would be if he could get close to it. Why was it so far away? His magic usually didn't work this well that he could sense something so far. Did it? He didn't remember a time that'd happened. Usually the things he heard were close...

"It far." Brother grunted. Then, turned his nose to the jungle floor, snuffling along the overgrowth. He had to angle his head onto its side, since his nostrils were positioned almost under his eyeballs rather than at the tip of his nose. "Where?" He grunted again at Rex, giving him a confused look.

"It fast?" Brother suggested; surely nothing was so tall that it sounded far away. Surely. It had just run really fast away; that must be it. Perhaps some sort of speedy pugna, yes.

Brother pulled another face. What did Rex-thing mean by any of that? It wasn't big just far away. It had to be, otherwise how would it fit in the island? How could they not see it above the trees? No, it was simply a fast pugnas or sailfin, it had to be.

"What Kihan?" Brother asked, but remembered to keep his voice low as he scampered after Rex. None of this was making sense. Perhaps they'd both gotten confused. He'd just try again and clear up the muddled signals.

Yet as the rest of the world tuned out and his hearing strained, it was still the same. Brother huffed as he tried to keep pace with Rex. "Fly-thing?" He asks, he'd seen them above the trees, creatures with wings. He'd never figured out how to get them down, however. Which was a shame, they looked tasty.

Why was it so loud? So encompassing? Had it been close? Brother was beginning to feel things he'd yet to feel before; apprehension rolled off of him in waves. He was never scared of the lessers of Lacerta, he knew to respect them, to stay away from their sights. To watch from a distance, to understand they surpassed him in sheer strength and size.

But he'd never feared them. Yet, as this great thudding heartbeat grew closer, he felt uneasy. What if... whatever this was.. had already seen them? What if it was watching? Why didn't it sound like the fly-things? Was it something worse? He'd once chanced a glimpse of the larger fly-things right as it'd snatched a devilbeak from the jungle floor. He'd only seen it as a blur, but even that was less concerning than whatever this was.

It was so loud he could almost feel it. What was making it so large?

Opting not to share any of these thoughts with his companion, Brother instead made a small nod in Rex's direction. So loud was it that he could no longer pick out a direction. It felt all encompassing, as if the noise was all around, but if he really focused, he was certain it was coming from somewhere ahead, wasn't it?

"Not good?" Brother whispers, lifting his head, just to speak into the side of Rex's head.